Seattle Pacific University Top Questions

I have still yet to embark on my college experience!

I have learned so much about who I am and where I want to go. I came out of a community where alot of young people stay around get very low paying unsecure jobs, just because that is what's familiar to them. However, being at school I have learned that I have a drive and passion to go places in life, learn through experience and education, and to make a difference in the world. My school is giving me this opportunity and I am so gladd that I am taking it. It has been so valuable for me to attend school and learn more about the potential I have, and also to be humbled by how little I truly know. Yet, school has enabled me to keep learning, experiencing, and growing in ways that I know will enrich my life.

The most valuable part of my college experience thus far has been the broadening of my perspectives. I have learned so much more about who I am in interacting with students from different backgrounds, professors with expertise in a variety of areas, and living among others in close vicinity. I am gaining real world experience, and have appreciated the ability to make the most of the beautiful and resourceful city of Seattle in which I live. I truly believe that the world is at my fingertips and after graduating from Seattle Pacific University, I truly do believe that I will be able to chang the world.

Paying for my schooling independently has forced me to appreciate every penny I spend. Each time I sit down in class at Seattle Pacific University, I spend $300. That's $300 that could be donated to a local animal shelter, or spent to feed homeless families. But no; it's being spent on me learning. Thus, I know I have to use this education to be a productive member of society. The money that I am putting into it has to pay off in some way that benefits others besides myself. Since I have the means to get such an education, it would be foolish not to. But, it would be equally foolish to pay for this education and not do any good works with it. Now I have come to this realization, but I have also come to the realization that I need outside help. If I graduate with $80,000 of debt, I won't have much choice what I do to make a living. But if I could lessen that debt, I would be able to choose what I do with my life not on the basis of money, but on the basis of making a difference.

I think in the time that I have been in college I have really grown up a lot. I have realized that I have to work hard to get what I want, and that's what I have been doing. I know if I wouldnt have gone right away and taken a year off I might not have gone at all. By going this semester I now know I have what it takes to finish college, and move on with my life.

I have learned so much academically. I also have become more independent and comfortable with myself. This is my first time living away from home. Seattle Pacific made this transition as easy as possible. They are not overly controlling, and they don't try to hard to make dorm life feel homey. But they do a great job of matching incoming freshman with supportive upper classmen as well as encouraging life long friendships between peers.

I love the city that's filled with opportunity to learn and to grow. I've been involved in biomedical research as well as inspired to mentor homeless teens. My professors have challenged me and intimadated me to succeeed. It's been great.

I spent the first 40 years of my life unsure of what I wanted to do. I had no idea what I was suppose to do with my life. I stayed home with my children until my youngest child was in school. I worked at a factory for 10 years. In 2007 the factory I worked at moved their operations to Mexico. I was laid-off and I was consider a displaced worker. I was able to go through a program which paid for me to attend training. I choose to go to a community college. At first I thought about taking the radiologist courses, but decided to take graphic design instead. Taking graphic design was the best decision I have ever made. I have always loved computers and computer programs. I enjoy photography, and have always be interested in art, font, font styles, and lettering. By the time I had finished my first graphic design course (Graphic Design I) I knew this is what I am supposed to do with my life. I am a graphic designer. If I had never attended college I may have never realized "what I want to be when I grow up."

It's the first quarter of my Freshman year at Seattle Pacific University, and I already feel like I fit in, like I've found my niche. SPU is a very inclusive school, and there are so many oppurtunities to get involved. Between campus life and Seattle life, I really have to pick and choose what I want to do from day to day, because there's so much to do. In addition to this, SPU's quarter system of semesters is a really good idea, as it allows more oppurtunities to take the classes you want and need. The majority of professors are fantastic, and classes are small enough to get to know your professor fairly well. On a sidenote Gwinn food isn't too shabby.

I like college. In fact, I like learning. I always have. Call me a nerd if you wish (You'd most likely be correct. [You didn't hear that from me.]), but I won't deny that I like learning new things. I like Lord of the Rings, Classical music and long words (like floccinaucinihilipilification) too. Deal with it. At any rate, college has been a lot of fun for me. Of course there are professors that I don't like - that's life. There have, however, been a couple that were really excellent - in fact, my Philosophy professor is absolutely part of why I'm majoring in Philosophy. I like thinking. My college experience is not valuable, though, for what some of my professors told me to know; it is valuable for what the other professors taught me to learn. Not for the communication it commanded, but for the conversations it caused. It is valuable not for the grades it gained, but for the curiosity it cultivated. "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. ... [He] who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."